WHAT ARE THE ORIGINS OF THE “WORD OF FAITH” MOVEMENT? [1 of 3] This question is related to the false claim that biblical "speaking in tongues" can be gibberish: Around 1900, with little biblical education, Charles Parham invented the idea that the language spoken in tongues MUST be unknown, meaning it must be gibberish. Parham attracted students and insisted they wear the latest clothing fashions, which goes right along with today's Word of Faith people who tell us that Jesus wore designer clothing. So, this guy Parham was the person responsible for originating the unknown-tongues thing, even though his first female student, Agnes Ozman, is now accredited by the charismatic community as the first person to speak in gibberish tongues. But her-teacher Parham did that, and even Ozman did not believe him. She taught that it must be a KNOWN language—in her case, Chinese. That account shows that even the charismatic leaders have not gotten their foundational history right. Now, let me give you what Agnes Ozman actually uttered, what she characterized as "Chinese." Though this will be hard to believe—and a bit funny if not so tragic for those following her teachings—this has been well documented. Without ever studying Chinese, Ozman not only claimed to speak it, she also said she could write it, both of which were untrue. Here's a partial transcript of what she supposedly said in Chinese: "Lazzo, lauzo, logal, eenie, meenie, minie, moe.” I did not make that up! And even if she blurted out some legitimate Chinese, which she didn't because we know what she said, a Chinese message would not end with the English phrase, “eenie, meenie, minie, moe”—unless she was randomly choosing lunch.